


An Aussie Christmas

by Burgie



Series: 12 Days of Ficsmas 2017 [6]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 15:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13056762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Louisa brings her girlfriend home for Christmas.





	An Aussie Christmas

Lisa had melted. Louisa smirked as she looked over at her girlfriend, who was sitting rather lazily in a fold-up chair that sat beneath the tarp. Surprisingly, Lisa hadn’t awoken at the sounds or scents of barbecuing fish, but Lisa always did prefer the sweet things.

“You’re going to have to get up soon,” said Louisa, turning over the foil-wrapped fish to cook the other side. Lisa sighed, clearly disagreeing with the idea of getting up.

“Why?” asked Lisa, a whine in her voice. “It’s too hot, can’t you just, I dunno, feed me?”

“You can get up and feed yourself,” said Louisa with a laugh. “Look, we can go to the pool later.” She’d come to a resort-style campsite to spend Christmas at home, and had brought her girlfriend along with her for the journey. Lisa had liked it at first, but now she kept complaining about the heat.

“But you’re supposed to wait before swimming after eating,” Lisa whined. Louisa rolled her eyes.

“Alright then, we’ll go to the beach and you can stand with your feet in the water,” said Louisa.

“I accept that proposition,” said Lisa, and hauled herself up out of the seat. Sweat had stuck her skin to the seat, so it peeled off, and she grimaced. “That’s attractive.” Louisa laughed.

“At least you’re not a puddle anymore,” said Louisa, her brown eyes warm with humour. She wiped sweat from her brow. “You’re right about it being hot, though.”

“I thought Australians were immune to heat,” said Lisa, raising an eyebrow as she sauntered over to stand on the other side of the barbecue. Immediately, she picked up one of the mitts and began fanning herself with it, her body gleaming with sweat. Louisa tried to ignore this distraction, even though Lisa did look rather lovely in her bikini.

“No, we just know how to deal with it,” said Louisa. “With air conditioning. And pools. And cold drinks. And some of us go to the snow.”

“And you took your Scandinavian girlfriend to Australia in the height of summer,” said Lisa, shaking her head. Louisa rolled her eyes, laughing at her girlfriend’s complaints.

“Alright, alright, next year you can choose the Christmas holiday destination,” said Louisa.

“Good,” said Lisa. She glanced down at the barbecue. “Is that pineapple?”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that barbecued pineapple is delicious,” said Louisa, pointing at her girlfriend with the tongs. She snapped them like a crab’s claw, and giggled. Lisa smiled.

“You’re cooking quite the feast,” said Lisa, eyeing up the food. Along with the fish and pineapple rings, there were also sausages, some steaks, and some little lamb chops. “Any salad?”

“Like a TV chef, I prepared some earlier,” said Louisa. “Potato salad, it’s in the fridge. And some Caesar as well, of course.”

“Should I get it out?” asked Lisa.

“Nope, but you can set the table,” said Louisa. Under the tarp in the outside area of their tent, Louisa had earlier erected a little table that had a white plastic tablecloth on it decorated with poinsettias and holly. In the middle sat a single electric candle (because a real candle? With the bush fire danger level this high? Don’t be stupid).

“Ah, plastic cutlery,” said Lisa, chuckling as she pulled it and the plastic cups and plates out of the ‘kitchen’ bag. “How romantic.”

“I know it’s wasteful but do you really wanna trudge all the way over to the camp kitchens to wash up?” said Louisa.

“Good point,” said Lisa, nodding. She set out the cups, plates, and cutlery, glad that there was no wind to send the plastic on a grand journey.

“Alright, dinner is up,” Louisa announced, serving the meat in one large foil tray and putting all of the pineapple rings in another tray. “Oh, did you get the crab out of the fridge too?”

“I have now,” said Lisa, grabbing the plate of crab meat after delivering the salads to the table.

“Thank you,” Louisa trilled, grinning, and sat down so that she could grab what food she wanted.

“Y’know, this is gonna sound bad but I never took you for the type to camp,” said Lisa. Louisa grinned around a mouthful of fish, then chewed and swallowed it.

“Well, I am from country Australia,” said Louisa. “My mum and aunt used to take my sisters and I camping every year.” She grinned at the memory. “We’d pack up the horses and our camping gear and take off. Usually in more remote locations, but I figured a resort-style park would be a bit better for you than the middle of the bush with all the scary Australian wildlife.”

“You figured right,” said Lisa. “Pity we couldn’t bring horses with us, though.”

“Alex and Linda are taking good care of them,” said Louisa. “Though I miss Goldie too.” Finishing off her fish, she rose and grabbed a large bottle of Solo from the fridge, pouring herself a cup of it. She sipped at her drink, then moved the foil (which was filled with fish bones) off her plate and replaced it with some Caesar salad.

“But at least I’ve got you,” said Lisa, and Louisa blushed, grinning.

“Yeah,” said Louisa, her heart pounding. “And I’ve got you.” And now, thanks to the efforts of her home country, she could have Lisa officially in the eyes of the law. But just the thought of proposing had her feeling faint with anxiety, so she hadn’t mentioned it beyond the teary, joy-filled early morning when she’d stayed up all night just to find out the results of the vote. She’d done that three times, and all three times, the mounting fears and stress had been blown away by that one simple word.

“So, what’s for dessert?” asked Lisa after polishing off her meal (she had tried some pineapple, and had declared that it was not bad).

“Pav,” said Louisa, getting up and clearing the plates away, which she tossed into the large garbage bag.

“What’s tha- ooh,” said Lisa when the large, meringue and cream confection was revealed. Louisa set it down on the table and cut one piece for herself and one for her girlfriend. Lisa immediately swiped a strawberry off the top and ate it.

“There’s a huge debate as to whether it’s Australian or from New Zealand, but I don’t care. It’s just nice,” said Louisa, munching on a piece that contained at least one slice of kiwi fruit.

“It is pretty good,” said Lisa. “Not chocolate but eh.”

“There is a recipe for chocolate pav,” said Louisa. “But since I’m introducing it to you, I decided to keep it simple.”

“Good choice,” said Lisa, nodding. “But give me chocolate next time.”

“I will,” said Louisa, smiling.

After dessert, just as Louisa had promised, the two of them got into Louisa’s car and drove a few minutes to one of the many beaches here. Lisa got out, her red toenails sparkling in the late sunlight, and walked down to the beach, where she took her ‘thongs’ off and put her feet in the water (Lisa had laughed long and loudly when Louisa had called them thongs, but her girlfriend had simply rolled her eyes and said that they were flip flops, then. But ‘thongs’ sounded funny).

Louisa followed her girlfriend down to the beach, smiling as Lisa lay down in the surf, tilted her head back, and let the waves wash over her. The best part of a camping holiday, so Lisa had decided, was the fact that they could get around in their swimwear all day and nobody would care. In fact, everyone else would be doing the same thing. Taking her own thongs off, Louisa walked down the beach, leaving her keys and other important things (as well as Lisa’s phone and wallet) buried in the sand so that nobody would steal them. She sat down beside her girlfriend, stretching her legs out and very much enjoying the way the sand sucked against her legs as the water went out. The waves crashing over her legs and soaking her belly felt pretty good, too. Lisa sighed happily.

“This is the life,” said Lisa, letting her skin catch the last rays of the sun. “Summers never feel this good over in Jorvik.”

“Just a few hours ago, you were complaining about the heat,” said Louisa. Lisa laughed.

“Eh, it’s okay sometimes,” Lisa amended. Louisa laughed.

“Sometimes,” said Louisa. “Just wait until you get sunburnt, then you’ll hate the sun.”

“And I’m sure you’re intimately familiar with that,” said Lisa. Louisa scoffed.

“How did you know?” Louisa muttered, and Lisa laughed.

“Your tan lines, dear,” said Lisa, stroking down Louisa’s arm to where her watch normally sat. Louisa blushed, then kissed her girlfriend as their fingers entwined. Some sand got in her mouth, but she didn’t spit it out. Instead, she smiled. There was bringing your girlfriend home to meet the parents, and then there was bringing your girlfriend home to meet the country that had birthed her. She decided that she liked the second one better.

Even though she was a Jorvegian resident now, even if Lisa wanted to stay in Jorvik after they inevitably got married, Australia would always be home.


End file.
